


Writings On The Wall

by KyeAbove, Ohaymikoto



Series: The Reinforcement Of Agony AU [120]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Friendship, Loss, Period-Typical Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 16:42:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18720982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyeAbove/pseuds/KyeAbove, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohaymikoto/pseuds/Ohaymikoto
Summary: Agony: HellHenry thought that this Searcher too was one he could save.





	Writings On The Wall

**Author's Note:**

> Figured it was time to give Len some love in this series

~Unknown~

* * *

Henry looked around the decrepit corridor he was walking down. Faded posters of Bendy and the gang on their quirky escapades, boarded up holes in the walls and the groaning of the floorboards. It was both an eerie and heartbreaking sight. It was like the building itself was crying for death, to just end it's unending torment.

Much like the poor souls that still roamed it's halls. Forced to remain and suffer in a inky torture. None of them deserved such fates.

He let out a deep sigh, how had things come to this? He heard a noise in response and looked to see Timmy was trying to make a funny face, and almost accomplished it. 

"Trying to cheer me up?"

Timmy nodded his head and Henry smiled a bit. It was nice to have some company. Henry would always find himself talking to himself to somehow fill the void of loneliness, so having a person to talk to was always a breath of fresh air. Henry poorly imitated the sound right back to Timmy and they both laughed a little. The searcher's laugh sounded like a bunch of hissing noises.

Their slightly cheered up mood was cut short when they happened upon a corner in the corridor's turn. There was a searcher and it was running it's inky hands across the walls surface. Henry saw that the searcher was much too occupied with the wall to notice or care about the duo so he craned his neck to see what it was doing. It wa _s writing._

 _Wife_ _poetry kids work hassle name name name name _**Ellery Rylie Robert** _remember remember remember!_ My name my name **Len Potts** scared can't stay **THIS IS HELL.**

Henry felt a cold shiver throughout his whole body, this creature...this searcher was once someone he knew personally. This was Len Potts. Henry almost wanted to cry upon the sight of one of his animators in such a tragic state of being. He already had Timmy with him in a similar state but it didn't make it easier. It probably never would.

Henry took a deep breath and then grew determined. He took a first step towards his old friend when Timmy grabbed his shoulder and hissed at him. Henry stared back at him with confusion.

"That's Len, you remember him, right? Len Potts?"

Tim leaned down, and wrote his response on the floor.

**Not safe. We have to flee.**

"Please Tim, I have to help him. There is hope. He can write and clearly remembers his life as human, I have to try." Henry persisted gently then walked away from Tim who just whined in reply and kept to pointing at the word **flee.**

Henry slowly approached Len who was writing something else now on the wall, when he decided to get his attention by clear his throat softly. Len whipped his head towards Henry and immediately huddled in a defensive position. Henry kneeled down next to him and kept a air of friendliness around him to soothe his old friend.

"Len, it's me...Henry. Do you remember me?"

Len slowly let down his fearful defense and looked at Henry. He seemed to understand his words. He nodded in a hesitant fashion at Henry's question which made him brim with hope.

"I have Timmy with me was well. I can draw you out of the puddles." Henry held his hand out for Len to take so Henry could help him out of the ink puddles like he'd helped Tim some time before. The searcher looked at his hand for a bit then very shakily and slowly reached out to take his hand. Henry got ready to pull him out when...

Len screeched anticlimactically and lounged for Henry with his inky claws brandished. Henry stumbled back and in a reflex took out his axe then swung it.

It cleanly swiped Len's head off.

Henry stared in horror as Len's body shook before spilling back into the inky puddles. Henry felt his knees grow weak and they buckled. He knew pretty much every ink creature in the studio was once a human, many of them his old friends and family but that was one thing....this was something else. This time he knew for sure who was under the ink covered agony. He remembered a face and a friend. He looked at the wall of writing in grief.

He reached out and traced along Len's name.

* * *

"Mister Bendtsen, I must ask you and please pardon my rudeness. Why did you hire me? Was it condescension or pity or some sort of self righteous thought of you saving me?"  
  
Henry blinked in stunned shock as stared at Len who looked back at him with a tired but irritated look on his face. He was interrupting Henry while he was overworking himself on the next cartoon.

"Neither of the three? Why would you ask this?" Henry put his pen aside and turned fully towards the other man so they could fully focus on the conversation.

"Because it's usually one of the three, it always is." Len crossed his arms. Henry found this whole thing worrying and wondered what could've brought this on so suddenly. Len had only been working at the studio for two days after all. Henry could think of one possibility.

"Did someone say something to you? Something you didn't like?"

Len just huffed.

"Nothing I'm not used to, just a group of interns..." Henry frowned, it sounded like he was right on the money so he pressed for what they said. "Just the same old... _'a little far from Chinatown!'_ And _'did you get hired to pick rice for us?'_ And _'yellow guy here thinks he is so important!'_ And finally _'why did you even get hired here in the first place? It was probably out of pity for your appearance! Those squinty eyes of yours look hilarious!'"_  
  
Henry was gripping his chair in anger at this slander.

"Those interns have violated our two most important policies, are you aware of them?" Henry took Len's confused face as a clear no so he began to recite it. "Firstly we have a no questions asked policy, it means we ask only for your talent and personality otherwise everything else is none of our business and we respect your privacy. Secondly we have a strict no discrimination policy, this studio is open to everyone and we don't care what color your skin has or which gender you identify as or which religious beliefs you have or which sexuality you have or if you have any handicaps."

Len blinked in shock upon hearing those words. He'd never heard of those kinds of policies before on any workplace he'd ever worked on.

"Now show me those interns so I can have them dragged to Joey's office." Henry stood up from his chair and waited for Len to point them out but he just stood there stunned.

"I...I've never had a boss like you Mister Bendtsen." Len said slowly, like he wasn't certain if he was allowed to admit such a thing.

"All your other bosses were racist dicks too?" Henry hissed. Len nodded after a bit of contemplation and Henry shook his head in dismay.

"If more people were like you Mister Bendtsen then...I bet it would be a more pleasant place to live in." Len said softly and Henry smiled a bit before putting a reassuring hand on the other man's back.

"Henry is fine, may I call you just Len?"

They started walking away from Henry's desk and Len nodded a bit with a tiny smile.

* * *

 It felt so long ago now. Henry's fingers then ghosted over the name of Ellery Potts. He'd only met the woman a few times but she was kind.

He'd heard of her fate after Len disappeared, among the many things Marjorie Andrews told him, and he only wished now that it hadn't ended that way for Len and Ellery. 

* * *

 "Henry, I need you opinion on something important." Henry looked up from his lunch with a curious gaze. Len held his book of poetry with nervous hands and he took a seat next to Henry.

"Sure, what is it about?"

Len let out a heavy sigh and flicked through the pages of his book until he landed on the desired page.

"It's for my girlfriend, Ellery, I'm planning to propose to her with a poem I wrote specifically for her. Can I read it to you?"

Henry gestured for Len to go ahead and read it to him. He would instantly regret that choice.

 _"Ellery you are like celery, you keep me healthy and functional during the most trying times, I know it might not be worth many dimes but would you consider being my bride?"_ Len read the poem then he looked to Henry expectantly. Heney had nothing against Len's questionable taste in poetry but he highly doubted any basic woman would find that piece endearing enough to agree to a marriage. Burt he did hope that Ellery would love it. 

"She...she's going to melt in your hands." 

"Thanks Henry, I needed that confidence boost." Len stood up with a air of giddy confidence and he strode out of the lunchroom. Henry gave the poor man a look of pity as he worried what he would hear the very next day.

"She said yes!"

Henry stood there amazed once he'd arrived at work the next day, Len was trembling with excitement and happiness. "S-She did?"

"Yes! And guess what? She had a poem for me too! Could you even imagine that!? We proposed to each other in the same way at the same time!"

"Really?

 _"Hers was like this: 'Len you are a pen for without you I could never put proper words on paper, even if we one day meet doom I would still love it if you could be my groom'."_  
  
Henry finally understood what type of woman Len's now fiancé was. A kindred spirit in the art of questionable poetry. The love struck man kept gushing as Henry just stood there smiling

* * *

 It almost brought a smile to his face now as he remembered that moment. The wedding had included their weird poetry in a great abundance. Then he though again about Ellery....he didn't wish to think about it anymore.

He kept running his hand on the wall until it landed on the two other names. Rylie and Robert.

* * *

Henry was working on a cartoon of Bendy being a cabdriver when he felt two pairs of small hands tug on both of his legs. He smiled playfully then looked down to find Rylie and Robert Potts, Len's and Ellery's twin children.

"Curious?"

They nodded at his question and he helped them both onto his lap which did prevent him from working but he could take a little break. Rylie pointed out Bendy on the drawing and her brother tried mimicking his iconic smile but he stopped once his cheeks started to hurt too much.

"Want to try and draw Bendy?" Henry offered the two children who looked at him with sparkling eyes at the opportunity. He laughed and then had to set them down so he could fetch extra pens and papers. That's how Henry ended up drawing on the floor with the two children.

It had almost turned into a competition of sorts. The children wanted to draw better than him and he simply encouraged their spirit. He just doodled meaningless nothings until the children presented him with a drawing of Bendy they'd done together.

Bendy looked very well made and Henry had trouble containing his laughter when he saw that cute smile on Bendy's face, it lacked all the teeth his normal smile had and it was small compared to his face splittingly big one.

"You two clearly beat me, but what would Joey say if he saw this?" Henry questioned humorously. The twins pondered for a bit before they cheerfully answered him in unison. "No!"

"Which is why I'm going to pin this one on my desk so Joey can see it clearly whenever he comes by."

The three laughed at this together while Henry did indeed pin the cute Bendy drawing onto his desk along with a mocking note directed towards Joey with a single word only, _no._

* * *

Henry had almost cried when he'd seen the same drawing still on his desk after all these years along with the same note attached to it. He didn't know the fate of Rylie and Robert but he prayed they were nowhere in the studio to be found. Jorie hadn't known either...

Henry then just sat there as his grief came crashing back. Tears threatened to fall. A cold inky hand grabbed his shoulder and Timmy pulled Henry into a hug that was much needed. The human man finally cried and hugged his friend tightly.

It hurt that Henry couldn't save everyone.


End file.
